Thailer Brown of Petersburg High School chose to pursue the rigorous road of honors academics over her passion to pursue culinary arts. However, there now that she has graduated and is off to college she will be starting her culinary career.

While in high school, ampoule Brown volunteered as the sports manager of the boys’ varsity basketball team all four years. She started managing the team after a friend, pharmacy who was already managing but didn’t enjoy it, suggested it for volunteer hours. “I went with her one day to see (the team) and it looked like something I would like, so that’s why I chose to do it,” Brown said. Brown was also a member of the National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America while in high school. Brown ended her high school career with a 3.6 GPA.

While in school, she chose to focus on her academics, taking all honors and dual enrollment classes. During her sophomore year, Brown took her first class dealing with culinary arts and was captured by the class. “I loved the class,” Brown wrote in her personal essay. “I wanted to continue the rest of the courses throughout the rest of my high school years.”

Unfortunately, this did not happen for Brown because of the scheduling conflicts between her honors and dual enrollment classes and the classes for culinary arts. She decided to continue her honors classes and pursue an advanced diploma over culinary arts. “I could always go back and pick up the culinary classes,” Brown said.

“I figured why not stay on the advance diploma and get the highest education I can get.” She stayed the course of the advanced diploma with her goal always to come back to the culinary arts that she fell in love with that sophomore year.

Now that Brown has a solid academic foundation, she is moving on to pursue her career in culinary arts. In the fall, she plans on attending Virginia State University. While there, she would like to major in hospitality management, which is their version of culinary arts.

Ultimately, Brown would like to become a chef and own her own chain of various restaurants serving several different cuisines.

However, her first restaurant would be a comfort soul food restaurant located in downtown Petersburg or Chesterfield. Brown says food is fun, tastes good and makes people happy and that’s what she would like to do. “This is something that I like, its creative, and is considered an art,” Brown said. “It makes people feel good.”

Brown says she doesn’t fix extravagant meals for her family but she does prepare dinner throughout the week.  She credits her grandmother as her inspiration for wanting to cook. She says her grandmother used to cook every day of the week for her family. However, now she only cooks on Sundays, but the family still loves any food she cooks. “Her food is comfort and good,” Brown said. “And that’s what I want to give to people, not just my family.” sophomore year, Brown took her first class dealing with culinary arts and was captured by the class. “I loved the class,” Brown wrote in her personal essay. “I wanted to continue the rest of the courses throughout the rest of my high school years.”

Unfortunately, this did not happen for Brown because of the scheduling conflicts between her honors and dual enrollment classes and the classes for culinary arts. She decided to continue her honors classes and pursue an advanced diploma over culinary arts. “I could always go back and pick up the culinary classes,” Brown said. By Laquita Jacobs